Small Talk: Fulton bid could finally end the saga over Easier
Bango to expand overseas after debut on AIM
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Your support makes all the difference.The scandal surrounding the former AIM-listed cash shell Easier, which was first highlighted by this column in February, seems to be moving closer to being resolved. Fulton Partners, which controls Easier via its 25 per cent shareholding, has promised to buy out remaining shareholders.
The offshore investment firm says it will pay 22p a share to Easier's long-suffering investors, which values the company at £5.4m - in line with the cash on its balance sheet. Alternatively, Fulton is offering investors shares in a new company it will control, that plans to extract natural gas from Texas. Given the way Fulton has run Easier since taking control of the board in September 2003, few are likely accept this option.
Fulton announced its buyout bid on Thursday and has until 25 July to make a formal offer. There will have to be a full set of accounts (the Fulton-controlled board has not yet published accounts for 2003 and 2004).
A major worry for Easier's hundreds of small shareholders is the inability of Fulton to say who its advisors are on the deal. When Brian Copsey, the Fulton executive who replaced David Gough as chairman of Easier last week, was tackled about the issue he said he was not at liberty to disclose the fact. Likewise, he failed to say where Easier's £5.4m of cash can be found.
This behaviour leaves a question mark over whether Fulton will ever table a formal offer. The best route to sorting out the mess would have been for rebel shareholders at the group, led by Neville Buch to have succeeded in their attempt to end Fulton's control of the cash shell's board. They wanted to appoint Mr Buch and Gilbert Chalk, a fellow shareholder, as directors and have them secure control of the company's cash pile. That failed on Thursday when an extraordinary meeting called by the rebels was cancelled after Mr Gough resigned as chairman but appointed Mr Copsey, a fellow Fulton executive, in his place before departing. The rebels will have to wait for Fulton to make its offer but warn that should it fail, court action to have Mr Copsey removed from the board is a possibility. They are convinced they would have succeeded in getting Mr Buch and Mr Chalk appointed had it come to the vote and are in no mood to ease the pressure on Fulton.
Bango provides technology and services that help businesses looking to make money from people who access the internet via mobile phones. The group makes its debut on AIM on Thursday. Panmure Gordon has raised £7m for it at 134p a share, which will value Bango at £35m.
The new cash will fund Bango's expansion overseas and help it extend its network of partnerships with developers of mobile sites and billing providers. The money should also come in handy as Bango tries to expand its customer support team to accommodate the fast-growing number of businesses using the company's technology and services.
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